The third stage of the Tour of Switzerland was won by Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) after a leg-breaking day that only had 41 riders riders finish together in the front group. Thibaut Pinot tested himself in the sprint not to be caught out in a split while Steve Morabito looked after him. Previously, Mathieu Ladagnous and Jérémy Roy did a great job until the last climb.

"It was a difficult stage," said FDJ sports director Yvon Madiot. "They were riding fast and there was a fight for position as always in the Tour of Switzerland. There were a lot of steep hills that reuqired punch but Thibaut was always well placed when it was necessary. In the finale he was supported by Mathieu Ladagnous and Jérémy Roy and he left the top places in the field."

At the finishm after taking eighth place in the stage, Pinot was announced as having moved into fourth overall but as Geraint Thomas (Sky) had been caught up in a crash, the Frenchman remains in fifth place.

Again Pinot rode very offensively, attentive and well-positioned to avoid any kind of time loss.

"Tomorrow is the decisive stage with the finish on the glacier in Sölden in Austria," Madiot said. "The GC will be decided in the final time trial on Sunday.

"Today, and this is very reassuring, Arthur Vichot felt better and better but Arnaud Démare was not very good. There is no doubt that he suffers the consequences of his crash last Sunday."

“There’s only one really true mountain stage here, but this is a proper col. I’m going to try to win it on Wednesday,” Pinot told L’Équipe prior to the start of the Swiss stage race.

Pinot explained that he had chosen to ride in Switzerland to get the chance to ride alongside fellow Tour captain Demare.

“There weren’t a lot of sprint stages [at the Dauphiné] for Arnaud. It’s useful to be able to ride together here in order to iron out any issues before the Tour,” he said. “We realised last year that the fact that we had never been together created problems. He didn’t know my way of riding and vice versa.

“I often ended up on my own, in echelons or most obviously on the stage over the pavé. We found it difficult to accommodate and understand each other when racing.

“I like the fact that there are only two weeks between a race of this kind and the Tour. The gap from the Dauphiné is a bit too big.”